So a while back I came across the Blueprint Cleanse. I had heard of cleanses before but thought it was just a weird lemon drink you have for 3 days and it seemed awful. When I read about the Blueprint Cleanse, I became intrigued. It’s three days and each day you have involves 6 total juices, which are all full of tasty fruit, leafy greens and nuts. I wanted to try it but I didn’t want to pay the price (65 bucks a day? no thanks). So I picked up the book, The 3-Day Cleanse: Drink Fresh Juice, Eat Real Food, and Get Back Into Your Skinny Jeans, which includes the recipes to the juices you can make for your own at-home 3-day cleanse.

I proposed the idea to my boyfriend who agreed that I should do it and he wanted to do it with me. I researched a lot of blogs to hear about other people’s experiences and how they did the cleanse in case any part of the book was misleading. For example, I decided not to buy a juicer but instead got a blender in case I don’t become a faithful juicer and I waste the money spent. So the week leading up to the cleanse, we attempted to maintain a somewhat healthy, non-indulgent diet and this past weekend, we stocked up on ingredients, bought a blender and starting juicing. It was a long process to get started but in the end, we discovered that we did indeed save money by doing it ourselves so we felt motivated for Day 1 of the Blueprint Cleanse. See below for my play-by-play of Day 1:

Day 1

7:15 am:
Woke up and had hot water with lemon. Not feeling hungry, rushed to a doctor appointment and opened up my first green juice (Spinach-Apple-Blueberry-Lemon) around 9 am. Doesn’t taste too bad but worried it might be too chunky. Not feeling tired. Just frustrated with traffic.

9:40 am:
Done with doctor and guzzled the rest of first green juice on the way to work. Starting to not like it as much and it’s getting stuck in my teeth. Trying to finish before I get there but give up with about 2 sips left.

10 am:
Got to work and feeling sleepy. Also a little out of it because the doctor put something in my eyes making everything a little blurry. Or maybe it’s the cleanse making everything blurry. Not sure. I made some hot green tea and it’s yummy.

11:05 am:
I wanted to have my first fruit juice by 11 but I feel pretty full from my first juice so I’m going to wait until 11:30. I’m looking forward to this one. Dreading the second green juice later today.

11:08 am:
I could definitely go for a cheeseburger right now but trying to keep mentally focused. It’s just 3 days!! I’m also a little worried that being in social media might make it hard to abate my food cravings. Everyone is talking about yummy food. Go away.

11:44 am
Opened up my first fruit juice (Strawberry-Banana) and it’s good. Feeling a bit more optimistic now but still dreading the green juice later today.

12:14 pm
Minor headache. Everyone is eating their lunch. Torture.

1:30 pm
Still on the first fruit juice and need to hurry up to start the next one. Smells of other people’s food is still torturing me. Minor headache still but not so bad.

1:57 pm
Still haven’t finished the juice and I think I need to drink more water. Not feeling as tired and no headache as of now. Stomach hurts a little but I think some water would help.

3 pm
Drinking some water and about to start on my second fruit juice (Raspberry-Orange-Banana). I’m not feeling that hungry but I am kinda tired and slightly light-headed. The thought of running errands after work sounds pretty awful. I’d much rather go home and take a power nap…

3:35 pm
Starting the second fruit juice. Tom said the green juice is “toxic” so I am trying to think of ways to get out of that one… Also think I might have a few pieces of celery and carrot when I get home.

4:11 pm
Enjoying the second fruit juice. I think tomorrow I will use a straw instead of drinking it out of the bottle. Slight headache coming and going. I feel like I am in the home stretch for the day although I need to finish three more juices before bed. Ugh.

5:13 pm
Having difficulty finishing the juices in a timely manner. I need to hurry up to stay on schedule. Finishing up at work and feeling a little more energized. Yawning has ceased.

End of Day 1:

Overall, the first day of the cleanse was tough. I was pretty irritable by the end of the day. The second green juice (Apple-Kale-Spinach-Lemon-Parsley) was about as horrible as I anticipated. I did what I could then called it a day. I had my last fruit juice (Mixed Berry-Banana) for dinner, which was a relief after the green poison and then I somewhat enjoyed the raw cashew milk a couple hours before bed. I also did not end up eating any celery or carrot like I had planned. Trying to stay strong!

It does help having someone doing this alongside me. We’ve been keeping each other accountable and preparing the night ahead for each day’s worth of juices, which takes longer than I thought but I’m getting the hang of it.

It’s crazy how much just one day of giving up real food affects both of us. It’s definitely making me more aware of how much sugar and salt I eat because I am craving it so badly. I’m pretty sure I was already asleep by the time my head hit the pillow around 11. Bring it on Day 2!